Nemaha County KSGenWeb

Founded in 1858, Nemaha County is bisected by its namesake, the Nemaha River which flows north into Nebraska. Formed by glacial deposits, the area is primarily composed of gently rolling hills. Besides the Nemaha River, these hills are the headwaters of the Delaware River on the east side of the county and the Vermillion River in the south of the county.

The early history of the county is rich in trail history. Many immigrants to Oregon passed thru the county in the 1840's and 1850's as they journeyed from St. Joseph, Missouri to connect with the Oregon Trail at Marysville, Kansas. The military trail took soldiers and supplies thru the county as they travelled to Fort Kearney. The Overland Stage line of the 1850's became the Pony Express route in the 1860's. In eastern Nemaha County, Lane's highway brought northerners into Kansas from the east.

With the settlement of some of these early voyagers, the early communities began to develop along these trails. In the 1870's the railroads began entering the county exerting their influence on the development of the county and its communities. The first settlers of the county were primarily northerners from New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. A second "wave" of immigration brought families from Germany and Switzerland to help settle the county.

In March and April, 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index.

At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web pages, This project has been expanded from Kentucky to all areas of the United States. Construction of web pages for Kansas began in June 1996.

If you would like to host a Kansas county, contact Tom & Carolyn Ward. If the county in which you are interested does not have a page and you wish to participate, or are just curious, contact Tom & Carolyn Ward.